Principal Financial Group announced today that it has transitioned administrative responsibilities for Principal EASE, the firm’s largest Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) by client count, to FuturePlan by Ascensus.
“As the PEP and small- and mid-sized business (SMB) market continues to grow and evolve, we remain committed to adapting our services and solutions to meet customer needs and market expectations.”
Principal’s Sean Jordan
The strategic move enables Principal to better align its recordkeeping and investment capabilities with the fiduciary and administrative expertise of third-party administrators (TPAs) like FuturePlan, which supports 37,000 retirement plans with more than 1.4 million participants and more than $113 billion in assets under administration.
“As the PEP and small- and mid-sized business (SMB) market continues to grow and evolve, we remain committed to adapting our services and solutions to meet customer needs and market expectations,” said Sean Jordan, vice president of Retirement and Income Solutions at Principal. “Maintaining and growing relationships with TPAs and retirement plan advisers strengthens our customer-first approach by providing enhanced expertise and service experiences while optimizing our offerings.”
Adding FuturePlan as the pooled plan provider, 3(16) plan administrator, and TPA for Principal EASE—all of which went into effect July 1—enables Principal to deepen its focus on building more customer-centric capabilities, investment offerings, and innovations for all plans in collaboration with retirement plan advisers and TPAs, Principal said in a press release today. The change will also optimize the service experience customers receive through the collective expertise of the two firms.
“We’re proud to build on our longstanding relationship with Principal,” said Kasey Price, president of FuturePlan. “This milestone reflects our leadership in the retirement space and our shared commitment to innovation and excellence in client and participant service. We look forward to serving even more savers as we continue growing together.”
A leader in pooled retirement plan offerings with over $3.5 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2025, Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal has four PEPs in total, including three of the largest in the industry by asset size (according to 2023 Form 5500 data). Together, these plans serve approximately 750 employers and over 86,000 participants. Principal EASE appeals to SMBs and retirement plan advisers, as nearly 70% of the employers participating in Principal EASE are new to offering a retirement plan, and three-fourths have 100 or fewer participants.
With the number of 401(k) plans in the U.S. projected to grow 66% by 2030—from more than 600,000 plans to over one million, according to Cerulli Associates—more SMBs, retirement plan advisers, and TPAs are evaluating PEPs as an efficient and cost-effective retirement plan option to support the savings goals of working Americans.
SEE ALSO:
• Why PEPs Are Gaining Ground—and What That Means for the Future of MEPs
• PEP Adoption Skyrockets Employer Satisfaction with Their Advisor, Retirement Plan